TEXAS, USA — Dallas County health officials reported 1,183 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday. This brings the county case total to 295,303 since tracking began in March 2020.
Of these new cases, 166 are considered probable because they came from antigen tests.
There were also 10 new deaths in the county, which ranged in age from a Dallas man in his 30s to a Grand Prairie woman in her 80s.
This brings the county confirmed COVID-19 death total to 4,301 since tracking began in March 2020.
Tarrant County has more than 1,000 hospitalizations for the third time in the last four days
There are currently 1,084 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Tarrant County, according to Tarrant County Public Health. That's up from 978 the previous day.
The county has reported more than 1,000 cases in three of the past four days. The county's current 14-day average is 963.
COVID-19 patients currently make up 23% of the total hospital bed capacity.
Health officials reported 1,263 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday. There have been 296,415 total cases in the county since tracking began in March 2020.
As of Wednesday, 2,312,463 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Tarrant County.
Health officials report 474 new cases in Collin County
There were also 474 new COVID-19 cases in Collin County on Wednesday, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
County health officials do not report daily case count statistics.
The county's current 14-day case count average is 371, state data shows. The record average of 708 happened from Dec. 31 to Jan. 13.
Collin County health officials said the county currently has 439 people hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, down from 472 on Tuesday. This is the seventh consecutive reported day the hospitalizations have remained above 400.
The county's current 14-day hospitalization average is 406.
COVID-19 patients make 16% of Collin County's total hospital bed capacity, according to county data.
Denton County has three ICU beds available
Denton County health officials reported there are three ICU beds available in the county's hospitals. This is down from four on Tuesday.
There are currently 188 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county, up from 180 on Tuesday. This is the 10th consecutive day there have been more than 150 COVID-19 hospitalizations.
The county currently has a 14-day average of 169 hospitalizations.
Health officials reported 407 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday. There have now been 87,402 total cases in the county since tracking began in March 2020.
There were also two new COVID-19 deaths, according to health officials. This included a man in his 40s from unincorporated southwest Denton County and an Aubrey man in his 60s.
There have now been 652 total COVID-19 deaths in the county since tracking began in March 2020.
As of Monday, 206,869 people in Denton County have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 198,011 have received their second dose.
State officials report more than 15,000 daily cases for second straight day
State health officials reported 18,826 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, up from 15,516 cases Tuesday.
Texas currently has had more than 10,000 new cases in eight of the last nine days.
Texas had fewer than 5,000 reported cases every day from March 3 through July 22.
The state's current 14-day average is 13,289. This is the 12th straight day this average has remained above 10,000.
The record-high average happened from Jan. 4-17 when it was 18,915.
State hospitalizations remain above 13,000 for fourth straight day
On Friday, state health officials reported there are currently 13,928 COVID-19 hospitalizations in Texas. This is the fourth straight day it has remained above 13,000.
There has been a 4,466 increase in people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Texas in the past 17 days.
The record-high number of hospitalizations happened on Jan. 11 when there were 14,218 patients in Texas hospitals.
The state currently has a 14-day average of 12,413 hospitalizations.
Enrollment in Fort Worth ISD's virtual learning option opens
Fort Worth Independent School District will offer virtual learning as an option this fall for students in kindergarten through sixth grade who have a "documented medical condition" that could make them vulnerable to COVID-19, the district's board voted Tuesday.
Registration opened Wednesday at noon and will last until Sunday at midnight.
The temporary option, and its funding, was unanimously approved by the entire board.
Booster shot prompted big jump in immune response, Johnson & Johnson says
Booster shots of Johnson & Johnson's one-dose COVID-19 vaccine led to a nine-fold increase in antibodies compared with just getting the first shot on its own, the company said Wednesday.
The company cited interim data from two studies involving booster shots given to people six-to-eight months after they received the single-shot vaccine.
Johnson & Johnson also said it saw significant increases in antibody response for study participants between ages 18 and 55 as well as those 65 and up who were given a lower booster dose.
Denton ISD temporarily requires masks
Starting Thursday, the Denton Independent School District will temporarily require students, employees and visitors to wear masks inside its facilities.
Denton ISD started class on Aug. 12 and had less than 10 reported cases of COVID-19 after the first two days, school officials said.
By the end of that first week, the district's case count grew to nearly 100.
Two weeks later, the district of about 35,000 students is now averaging more than 60 cases per day.
Judge allows Dallas County mask mandate to stay in place
A district court judge sided with Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins Wednesday in his dispute with Gov. Greg Abbott over the county's mask mandate, allowing the mandate to stay in place.
Judge Tonya Parker issued a temporary injunction Wednesday on Abbott's order that public entities such as cities, counties and schools can't issue mask requirements or mandates.
The injunction allows Jenkins' mask order -- and the mask requirements of local school districts -- to continue, for now.